Northwestern is back on track for its first NCAA tournament bid after perhaps its biggest victory in program history — leaving seventh-ranked Wisconsin with a W.
But at least one key hurdle remains — getting swingman Scottie Lindsey back to full health.
Lindsey has missed the last three games because of mono, and a team source said NU’s leading scorer will not return to action Wednesday against Maryland, as hoped.
NU officials would not comment, but those affected by mono often get an enlarged spleen. When that occurs, doctors recommend avoiding contact sports for fear that it will rupture.
Once NU’s medical staff clears Lindsey, which could come later this week, he will rejoin the team for practice.
After squaring off against 21st-ranked Maryland, Northwestern hosts Rutgers on Saturday. If Lindsey returns, given that he’s yet to practice in February, his minutes would be limited.
Lindsey’s continued absence makes NU’s victory at Wisconsin even more consequential. Had the Wildcats lost their third straight game and again fallen short of beating a top-25 RPI team, the pressure would have been enormous Wednesday against Maryland.
Northwestern (19-6, 8-4) beat the Badgers by doing a masterful job on big man Ethan Happ, a top candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year. By double-teaming him every time he touched the ball, Happ scored just nine points on 3-for-8 shooting and turned it over four times.
"That’s the best ‘double’ I’ve seen all year in the post," ESPN/ABC analyst Dan Dakich told the Tribune on Monday. "Everybody tries to double, but that was consistently the best. They pinned him in tough and eliminated one of the best post scorers in the Big Ten."
Dakich has yet to call an NU game this season but said he knew the Wildcats would be a force early. NU’s third game was at Butler, and Dakich said that Bulldogs coach Chris Holtmann told him before the game: "This is the hardest team to guard that we’re gonna play."
Said Dakich: "They move the ball, they move each other and (point guard Bryant) McIntosh is a stone-cold killer."
tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
Northwestern coach Chris Collins on win over No. 7 Wisconsin
Northwestern coach Chris Collins reacts to the team’s 66-59 win over No. 7 Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. (Paul Skrbina/Chicago Tribune)
Northwestern coach Chris Collins reacts to the team’s 66-59 win over No. 7 Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. (Paul Skrbina/Chicago Tribune)
See more videos
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
